The Decaying World

December.

Gongsun Xinlian and Zhang Yao both decided to join the Clear Wind Dao, seeking a Dharma Seal to enhance their strength and restore their condition.

This was especially true for Zhang Yao. He had over-consumed his Evil Energy—most of which was used to seal the Bright Heart Association Leader—and it could not be recovered. As a result, he was now severely weakened. He urgently needed to regain some of his power to compensate for this temporary vulnerability.

Soon, once everything was ready, Lin Hui chose a remote, unfamiliar stretch of sea far from Black Cloud to avoid causing any major disturbances, rather than performing the ritual within the Clear Wind Dao’s domain.

The first to begin was Gongsun Xinlian.

The two of them faced each other alone, hovering above the surface of the sea. Xie Chang’an and Zhang Yao watched from a distance.

All four were a bit nervous. Xie Chang’an and the others were worried they might not be able to receive the seal, or that the Seal Technique wouldn’t be very effective on them.

Lin Hui was nervous because this was his first time bestowing seals on two Fog People consecutively. Pang Jiu had essentially been a crippled Martial Artist, but this was different.

He honestly wasn’t sure what level a complete Martial Artist could reach after receiving the seal.

After all, it was all unknown.

"Prepare yourself."

Lin Hui let his right hand hang down, a faint white light glowing at his fingertip.

"Remember, deep in your heart, you must be willing to accept that you are a member of the Clear Wind Dao."

Gongsun Xinlian nodded. She watched Lin Hui draw closer, then simply closed her eyes.

HISS.

Something cold and sharp gently pressed against her third eye.

The next moment, an incredibly intricate white seal flashed between her brows and vanished.

Instantly, Gongsun Xinlian’s body began to swell rapidly, but she suppressed the change in the very next moment.

"The first seal, the True Body Seal. It’s a success!" Lin Hui said with a smile.

He quickly retreated, giving her space.

WHOOSH!!

In the next second, Gongsun Xinlian shuddered violently. A halo of grey-green light erupted from her, spreading in all directions.

Immediately after, her aura began to skyrocket, and the halo of light radiating from her grew brighter with each expanding ring.

After more than ten seconds, she slowly opened her eyes.

"From now on, I suppose I’ll have to call you Daoist Master as well." She looked at Lin Hui and smiled.

"Welcome." Lin Hui smiled back, then looked at Zhang Yao.

He stepped forward quickly, his expression solemn.

Bestowing the seals on the two City Lords did not take long, nor did the strange phenomena Lin Hui had worried about appear.

However, while there were no mishaps, they acted with caution. Both of them only accepted the True Body Seal, deciding to wait until they had fully adapted before attempting to receive any further Seal Techniques.

Next, Zhang Yao used his Evil Energy to help Lin Hui purge his resistance to medicines.

This meant that the Black Emperor Pills, which had become ineffective for him, worked once more. He could now use them in large quantities to accelerate his progress.

The ingredients for Black Emperor Pills weren’t rare, which was incredibly significant for Lin Hui.

Although the total amount he needed for his current evolution meant his dosage would be far higher than before, as long as the pills were effective, it was a huge advantage. For Black Cloud City, common materials were far easier to trade for in bulk than rare ingredients that might not be found for ages.

After receiving the seal, Zhang Yao quickly recovered most of his combat strength. Though he no longer had his Evil Energy, his greatly enhanced physical strength, speed, and regenerative abilities significantly boosted his close-quarters combat skills.

He went from being a ranged Fog Person unskilled in melee to a close-combat expert overnight.

As a result, Lin Hui’s relationship with the three City Lords grew even closer. He was often invited to the floating mountain for wine and tea in his spare time.

Several months passed in the blink of an eye. His insight into the Annihilation Sacred Form was nearing completion, and he was preparing to begin his study of the Celestial Sacred Form.

Meanwhile, the Bright Heart Association had come out into the open and was now wanted by the Taixu Federation.

Unfortunately, the warrants had little effect. The major urban districts were all self-governing and semi-autonomous, so they would never cooperate with the Inner Court to dispatch forces to capture the Bright Heart Association.

The Inner Court itself clearly had some connection to the Bright Heart Association; after issuing the warrants, it fell silent on the matter.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

On the Purgatory front, however, the Federation launched a continuous offensive. The Inner Court dispatched its people, and with the cooperation of surrounding districts, a new conflict began. Both sides established their battle lines, concentrating their power into their strongest champions, and the fighting was fierce and unrelenting.

Almost every day, refugee ships from that direction fled to Black Cloud.

Given the great distance and the harsh sailing conditions, the fact that so many still managed to arrive was astounding. It was impossible to know how many had died or gone missing en route. Clearly, the number that had originally set out was far, far greater.

Black Cloud City therefore had no choice but to build more Outer City housing to accommodate so many refugees from afar.

「Within the Clear Wind Dao Academy.」

Lin Hui sat cross-legged, listening as Liu Xiao went on about the newly arrived refugees.

Nearby, Lin Xiaoliu slowly practiced her sword forms. A handsome, cold-tempered youth in white stood to the side, occasionally speaking up to correct her swordsmanship.

The youth was Tao Changsheng, now only slightly younger than Lin Xiaoliu.

As the only son of the late Tao Xuehai, he had been raised by Mingde and Weiwei since arriving in Black Cloud. His aptitude truly lived up to his father’s expectations; it was clear a vast amount of resources and Treasure Medicines had been invested in him, even as an infant.

After coming of age, he joined the Clear Wind Dao, and his progress in swordsmanship was astonishingly fast, far surpassing the slow-and-steady Lin Xiaoliu.

Even in the Inner City, a place teeming with talent, his abilities were considered top-tier.

He had also recently awakened his Talent as a Summoner and had officially begun training under Liu Xiao in the Rain Palace’s divine arts.

"The world is getting more and more chaotic," Liu Xiao sighed. "Aside from all these refugees, a while ago, one of the Rain Palace’s Vice Palace Masters announced their retirement."

"Retired?" Lin Hui asked.

"Not exactly. They reached their limit..." Liu Xiao answered softly.

Lin Hui understood what she meant. Someone at the level of a Vice Palace Master was a Martial Artist at least approaching the Mingji Realm, with a lifespan of several hundred years at minimum. If they were a Summoner, they would live even longer.

"I remember you have two Vice Palace Masters..."

"It was the older one. But it’s still far too early. We had estimated he would be fine for at least another fifty years. For it to happen now... it’s just too soon." Liu Xiao shook her head.

Lin Hui was silent.

In fact, from the regular Clear Wind Dao gatherings and his daily chats via the Wind Chime, he had learned of many similar situations.

The corruption was accelerating... and its effects were beginning to manifest.

"To handle a Vice Palace Master... you’d need someone at the Mingji Realm to step in, at least, right?" he said softly.

"Yes... This time, they even invited the Blood Ancestor of Extreme Desire Heaven..." Liu Xiao nodded.

Once corrupted, a person’s strength generally increases by a full Great Realm. If they failed to suppress it, the resulting destruction would be disastrous.

"I’m a little worried... This corruption is accelerating so quickly, and the world is in such chaos. I’m afraid even Black Cloud won’t be safe for much longer... From what I know, chaos is breaking out in many districts across the Federation. Some Wild Fog People are joining forces to attack cities, and some Fog Spirit swarms have gone berserk, throwing themselves at the great cities without any regard for their own losses..." Liu Xiao said softly, leaning a little closer to Lin Hui.

"Don’t be afraid. I’m here. It’ll be all right." Lin Hui’s expression was calm as he gently reached out and took her hand.

"What are you talking about? I’m not afraid," Liu Xiao retorted, though her tone lacked conviction. "I’m just... worried about what the future will look like..."

"Whatever happens, as long as it doesn’t affect us, we’ll just focus on living our own lives," Lin Hui comforted her.

’He wasn’t a man of great ambition. He couldn’t stop the world from changing; all he could do was protect his own corner of it.’

’He had no intention of striving and sacrificing for some grand destiny or the righteous cause of the Federation.’

’Fundamentally, he didn’t even consider himself a citizen of the Federation. In his mind, the memories of his past life were still the foundation of his identity.’

"Mm..." Liu Xiao nodded.

’Lin Hui was the heart of the Clear Wind Dao now. As long as he was here, as long as he remained unchanged, everything felt stable, like things could stay just as they were.’

’He was like an anchor, calming the turbulent emotions of everyone around him.’

The two chatted for a while longer about trivial matters, like the recent refugees going to burn incense and pray. The desperate pleas the refugees poured out to the Divine Statues had taken a heavy toll on Liu Xiao.

Though she had once been a Priest and Summoner who could kill without batting an eye, she still saw the refugees as her own people.

After being bombarded by the emotional and spiritual turmoil of hundreds, even thousands, of people in such a short time, she had grown somewhat pessimistic.

As they spoke, she leaned against Lin Hui, slowly closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Seeing this, Lin Xiaoliu and Tao Changsheng exchanged a look. They quietly stopped their practice, bowed to Lin Hui, and slipped away.

Lin Hui leaned his back against a pear tree, looking up at the sky through the gaps in the leaves.

That greyish haze, in the sky above the Clear Wind Dao, also seemed to have thinned out a bit.

’This was a change he had noticed recently. The power of the Wind Calamity was leaking, and it seemed to be getting worse.’

’Fortunately, thanks to the vast quantities of medicine he was consuming, the evolution of his Wind Disaster Seal Secret Technique was also nearing completion.’

"Brother Lin, your application for a private territory has been approved. It’s south of Black Cloud’s Outer City, near a place called Wolf Fang Bay. The land is a small valley that the locals call Jade Valley. It produces some low-quality jade."

Gongsun Xinlian’s voice came through the Wind Chime.

"Thank you," Lin Hui replied with a smile. ’This land was the place he had prepared for his insights into the third form, the Celestial Sacred Form.’

’The Celestial Sacred Form required one to stabilize and manage the atmosphere above a one-million-square-meter area, and to do so from the perspective of an incarnation of heaven’s will. The requirements were quite vague.’

’Judging from the Cultivation memories instilled by the Blood Seal, this "management" actually required him to order all the energy flows within the region.’

’Furthermore, he had to complete the entire cycle of atmospheric energies within it. He predicted that achieving this insight would take an extremely long time.’

’The Celestial Sacred Form was also the most critical hurdle in the Star Breath Sword Manual. The previous stages, Life and Annihilation, had all been in preparation for this one.’

"You know, I never would have realized if I hadn’t joined, but the Clear Wind Dao has this incredibly convenient communication method, the Wind Chime. You really have some hidden depths. I tested it—it provides clear communication within a fifty-thousand-li radius. It’s so useful," Gongsun Xinlian marveled. "Daoist Master Lin, just how many other treasures and Secret Techniques are you hiding?"

"That’s all there is. The entire foundation of the Clear Wind Dao is right here for you to see," Lin Hui said with a laugh.

"I bet there’s more," Gongsun Xinlian laughed. "By the way, next month I’ve been invited to a tea party being held by the nearby districts. Want to come along for a change of scenery? Don’t you get tired of being cooped up in that little courtyard all day?"

"No, but thank you for the invitation. I have other plans and probably won’t be able to get away," Lin Hui politely declined.

’The situation was unstable, and the corruption was accelerating. He had to prepare ahead of time.’

’Jade Valley was to be his new base of operations near Black Cloud.’

’When the time came, he planned to move the entire labyrinthine ruin over from Tuyue’s territory, piece by piece.’

Gongsun Xinlian was slightly disappointed but didn’t press the issue. She carefully described Jade Valley’s exact location, population, and topography in detail before disconnecting.

Lin Hui carefully carried Liu Xiao to her bedroom and tucked her in. Then, he left the academy and flew off in the direction of his new private territory.